SUSTAIN (Sustainability Assurance & Innovation Alliance), a new grouping of oil palm growers, palm oil processors, consumer goods manufacturers, not-for-profit organizations and technology leaders, was officially formed on 07 September 2018 to initiate a blockchain solution that aims to improve traceability to production areas and accelerate the push towards NDPE in the complex palm oil chain. Companies in attendance at the SUSTAIN launch included palm oil companies Apical and Asian Agri; renewable diesel producer Neste; consumer goods manufacturer KAO; facilitation team CORE (Proforest and Daemeter); and technology partner SAP. Additional collaborators from across the palm oil supply chain are expected to join the new alliance as it further develops an industry solution.

Companies in attendance at the SUSTAIN
launch included palm oil
companies Apical and Asian Agri; renewable diesel producer Neste; consumer
goods manufacturer KAO; facilitation team CORE (Proforest and Daemeter); and
technology partner SAP. Additional collaborators from across the palm oil
supply chain are expected to join the new alliance as it further develops an
industry solution.

"SUSTAIN is not
about building another traceability data collection tool, analytics or
dashboard. The key focus of SUSTAIN is to promote collaboration and align
efforts in solving landscape-level issues by leveraging on technology to
address shared challenges in the supply chain," said Dato' Yeo How, President, Apical Group.
"We aim to work together with industry partners in creating an industry
solution towards greater transparency and sustainability assurance through the
successful integration of sustainability good practices with the latest technological
solutions."

It is
envisioned that SUSTAIN will provide open access to a system with downloadable
tools that can be utilized by a wide range of users such as dealers and
smallholders. The tools can be used by all parties to establish traceability,
monitor policy compliance, efficiently trade FFBs (fresh fruit bunch), obtain
best practice guides, and access innovative ESG-linked micro-financing.

The new
industry alliance launches at a time when palm oil continues to play a vital
role in satisfying global demand for vegetable oils driven by the exponential
growth of the world's population. Palm oil remains the most feasible option for
consumer products due to its unique properties and yield per hectare ratio
which is the highest among all vegetable oils. The alliance aims to build on
the increasing push towards collaborative effort and landscape approaches that
the palm oil industry is driving.

"SUSTAIN will
capitalize on the advantages of blockchain technology to encourage
industry-level collaboration and wide adoption of a common blockchain-based
platform as a practical solution to drive supply chain transformation to improve
market access for palm oil products," Yeo added. "The initiative has been
created to acknowledge the critical roles of palm oil mills, dealers, agents,
and smallholders in the supply chain and works towards inclusion and progressive
transformation."

SAP has joined SUSTAIN as technology partner. The
company has been working with more than 60 enterprises across industries to
create blockchain use cases in supply chain, manufacturing, transportation and
pharmaceuticals.

"SAP believes innovation is driven from a deep
understanding of our customers' business and the environment in which they
operate and the communities they serve. We are delighted to be working with
SUSTAIN as their technology partner," said Jim Cook, Vice President, Industries
and Digital Leader, SAP South East Asia. "SAP Leonardo, our innovation platform
supporting new technologies such as Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence
and Blockchain, will be used as a platform for SUSTAIN. SUSTAIN will capitalize
on the advantages of blockchain technology to encourage industry-level
collaboration to improve traceability and management of sustainable sources. Collaboration
across the many stakeholders in this industry is vital to protect the
livelihoods of those who work in the industry and protecting the environment."

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SUSTAIN (Sustainability Assurance & Innovation Alliance), a new grouping of oil palm growers, palm oil processors, consumer goods manufacturers, not-for-profit organizations and technology leaders, was officially formed on 07 September 2018 to initiate a blockchain solution that aims to improve traceability to production areas and accelerate the push towards NDPE in the complex palm oil chain. Companies in attendance at the SUSTAIN launch included palm oil companies Apical and Asian Agri; renewable diesel producer Neste; consumer goods manufacturer KAO; facilitation team CORE (Proforest and Daemeter); and technology partner SAP. Additional collaborators from across the palm oil supply chain are expected to join the new alliance as it further develops an industry solution.